Early Childhood Teachers

Our Early Childhood Teachers engage our youngest students in a play-based approach to learning and exploration, which incorporates the children’s interests as well as their individual needs when planning short and long term activities. Our teachers appreciate the whole child and promote an open dialogue with students so they can identify their own passions and contribute their own ideas.

Preschool

• Mary Franklin

  She/Her/Hers
  B.A. in American Studies and Elementary Education, Muhlenberg College 2007
  M.L.S. in Library Science, University of Maryland 2009
  Mary.Franklin@du.edu

  Mary relocated to Colorado from her hometown of Washington, DC. She has worked in teaching and administrative roles in preschools in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington state in both play-based and forest school settings before joining the Ricks team. Mary holds degrees in education and library science and incorporates her interest in diverse children's literature, social-emotional learning, and nature into the classroom. She loves being part of the Ricks community at DU.

• Zofia Garcia

  She/Her/Hers 
  B.A. Environmental Studies and Political Science, University of Colorado 
  M.S. Environmental Policy and Natural Resource Management, University of Denver  
  zofia.garcia@du.edu

  A Denver native, Zofia has worked with children in a variety of roles for several years with a focus on primary and early childhood education. After graduating from CU, she moved back to Denver where she further studied policy and environmental justice issues. Zofia lives in Denver with her family and enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, painting, and gardening. She is passionate about climate and environmental issues and expanding the human relationship shared with other living systems. 

Pre-Kindergarten

• Nicole Erwin

  She/Her/Hers
  B.A. Applied Music (Voice), Transylvania University 2016
  M.A. Education & Human Development (ECE), CU Denver
  nicole.erwin@du.edu

  2024-2025 marks Nicole’s third year at Ricks and seventh year teaching. She earned a Master’s from the Reggio Teacher Education program at Boulder Journey School (CU Denver). Her teaching focus leans toward Reggio practice in Colorado, child advocacy, and emergent curriculum. In her free time, Nicole enjoys hiking, fishing, and traveling with her husband, daughter, and dog as well as hanging out with friends and family.

• Sarah Howell

  Sarah initially began working at Ricks as a student employee and became a preschool teacher upon graduation. She has worked in kindergarten, pre-kindergarten and preschool classes in her time at Ricks. She attended the University of Denver and graduated in August of 2021 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Her studies mainly focused on early childhood psychology/development and cognitive neuroscience. She loves teaching and enjoys spending time with her family—Dario, Aleah, and Gus (their French Bulldog).

• Shavon Glasper

  She/Her/Hers
  shavon.glasper@du.edu

  Shavon Glasper teaches pre-kindergarten at Ricks and has been working with children for over 20 years. She trained in project-based and social emotional learning in her early childhood coursework. Her deep love for children drives her to consciencely seek opportunities to further her education and understanding of early childhood students. 

• Morgan Friedman

  She/Her/Hers
  M.A. Education and Human Learning, University of Denver 2017, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education
  B.S. Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Missouri, 2016

  This is Morgan's seventh year teaching in an early childhood setting and she is heavily inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to education and learning. She is passionate about play based learning, supporting the whole child, inquiry based emergent learning, and restorative practices. She moved to Colorado seven years ago to complete the Boulder Journey School program and earned her MA in Education and Human Learning. She grew up in Missouri and she spends a lot of time traveling there to visit with family and friends. She lives here in Denver with her husband, Kyle, and their golden retriever, Sadie. In her free time, Morgan loves to ski, camp, hike, backpack, travel, and read. 

Kindergarten

• Lauren Hayward

  She/Her/Hers
  B.S. Strategic Communications, University of Colorado Boulder
  M.A. Learning, Developmental, & Family Sciences (ECE), University of Colorado Denver
  lauren.hayward@du.edu

  Lauren is so excited to join the Ricks community as an EC Teacher! She recently finished her Masters degree at CU Denver in Learning, Development, and Family Sciences and worked as a preschool teacher at the Boulder Journey School. She is passionate about advocating for the rights of young children, supporting young children to see and achieve their full potential, and social-emotional learning. Originally from Philly, Lauren moved to Boulder in 2014 and Denver in 2018. She loves spending time her Pitbull-mix Ophie, exploring the outdoors, skiing, cooking gardening, and yoga.

• Jenny Trettel

  She/Her/Hers
  B.S. Spanish and Psychology, University of Denver 2015
  M.S. Natural Resource Management, with a certificate in Environmental Policy,and a certificate in GIS in the Environment, University of Denver
  M.A. Early Childhood Special Education, University of Denver (expected graduation August 2025)
  jenny.trettel@du.edu

  Jenny grew up in Minnesota with her four brothers and moved out to Colorado to pursue her degrees. In 2013, she became a work-study at the Fisher Early Learning Center on DU’s campus, teaching there full-time upon graduation in 2015 until 2019 when she joined the Ricks community. Jenny is passionate about the natural environment, embracing the use of all senses to enhance the learning experience, sparking both curiosity about and appreciation for nature. In her free time, she loves to run, bike, play piano, and overall, just spend as much time in the mountains as possible.